Semiconductors are used to regulate power flow in many modern electronic devices, including many applications in energy conversion. Interconnects are used to integrate the chips, substrates, and terminals in these semiconductor devices. For example, interconnects interface a semiconductor chip with a surrounding direct bond copper substrate (DBC) and interface the DBC substrate with external terminals. There are numerous techniques in common usage for forming the electrical interconnects. One of the oldest and still most common techniques is a straight wire or lead frame that is bonded at the connection points.
Interconnect failure is responsible for approximately 75% of all failures in semiconductor devices. These failures are usually a result of thermally induced mechanical fatigue. Conventional solutions for increasing semiconductor device interconnect reliability exist in many forms. Some designs focus on improving cyclic thermal strain, and others focus on interconnect design optimization for minimum parasitic inductance.
Modern semiconductor devices are moving towards increasingly integrated functionality. One of the most fundamental and useful integrated functions is that of current sensing. There are many types of commercially available current sensors today; however, each has significant barriers to integration. For example, LEM sensors are expensive, take up a lot of area, and are fairly low bandwidth.